Bitter
by supersteffy
Summary: Ryou drags Mariku treasure hunting in the middle of winter, much to Mariku's displeasure. Written for a contest. T for cursing. One-shot Deathshipping with implied Thiefshipping.


AN: This is my first ever Deathshipping fic. It was written for the Deathshipping contest maariku and creampuffsandcardgames posted on Tumblr. Thanks go to Sitabethel and I'mGettingTooOldForThisShip for looking it over for me! Hope you enjoy, and feel free to leave feedback!

* * *

"Remind me again why you dragged me out into the freezing cold?" Mariku grumbled, drawing his coat close as cars _whooshed_ by, stirring up a cascade of snowflakes and bitter wind.

"It's called geocaching," Ryou explained, ignoring the mini flurry and Mariku's tone in favor of the small map on his phone. "Bakura told me about it-we're essentially treasure hunting."

"I know that, but _why_ are we doing it?"

"Bakura challenged that we wouldn't be able to find the geocache he and Marik hid."

"Couldn't you have picked a day that the sky wasn't falling?" Mariku huffed, glaring at the grey clouds drifting down benignly.

Ryou rolled his eyes and grinned at the mantle of snowfall painting Domino City a heavenly white. "It's just snow, Mariku."

"Which means it is _literally_ freezing outside."

The wind was kept in check by the skyscrapers and other tall buildings. Snow floated down in fluffy tufts, putting Ryou in mind of a snowglobe. He voiced this observation to Mariku, who scoffed.

"I just wish the owner would quit shaking it."

"Don't you think it's beautiful?"

"I think it's cold," he groused, glaring icicles at passersby.

Mariku's arms were tucked tight to his body, but Ryou saw he was shivering despite having multiple layers under his coat. His spiked crown of blonde hair looked dispirited, sagging under the feather-light snow dappling it. Ryou adjusted a piece that had been knocked askew by the draft from passing cars.

Mariku met Ryou's eyes for a brief second before glaring once more at their fellow pedestrians as if they were somehow to blame for his misery.

The light at the crosswalk changed and Mariku sped across the intersection. He was halfway down the block when he realized Ryou was several paces behind. He began bouncing on the balls of his feet, waiting. "Can we move this along?"

Looking up from the glowing screen, Ryou walked a bit faster, stretching his legs to keep pace with Mariku's lengthier strides. "Sorry, I forget you're not accustomed to this type of climate."

After a couple more blocks, Ryou realized they were headed toward the pier. The winds coming off the water were significantly colder than the insubstantial breezes inland, and without the benefit of buildings to buffer it, it whipped at their exposed faces mercilessly. Ryou's cheeks and legs were numbing from the cold, but his thick gloves and wool-lined boots spared his fingers and toes.

" _Gods_ , it's _f-fucking_ cold out here!"

"Then go back to the apartment!" Ryou snapped. "I can find it myself."

"Then 'we' won't have found it and you'll lose the bet on a technicality." Mariku stared at his feet and kicked at a chunk of ice, sending it skidding across the pavement. "Might as well finish this."

Ryou sighed. "Come on, then. We're close."

They rounded the corner of a warehouse and were assaulted by a fierce gust that had them stumbling to keep vertical.

" _Man_ , the wind is nasty here," Ryou noted, glancing down again at his phone. "Just a little further."

Following the dwindling red line on the map, Ryou led them further down the coast. They were almost right on top of their destination.

"Ryou!"

Ryou felt a painful jerk on his bicep. Looking up, he noticed he was at the pier's edge, his foot caught mid-step over the sheer drop into icy water. A stunned squeak caught in Ryou's throat as he backpedaled. Sagging against Mariku in relief, he caught his breath.

"Thanks for that."

Mariku squeezed Ryou's arm before letting go and stepping back. "This is why I didn't let you go by yourself."

Ryou sent him a grateful smile before turning his attention to where they'd ended up. "That's odd. Why would they hide their geocache here?"

"Who cares? Let's just find the damn thing and get back home where there's climate control."

Ryou nodded and stepped onto the dock. This section had four docks connected in a square, perhaps for hauling in fish. Being so open, Ryou thought it a rather poor hiding spot.

"Found it!"

Ryou turned from checking the underside of one dock. He spotted Mariku holding aloft a small, metal box across the way. "That's got to be it!" Letting out a victorious whoop, he bounded over to get a closer look.

Mariku was frowning at the box, and Ryou could see why: the frame was simple, corroded brass plating, but a strange numbered lock was set into the top and embellished with a black halfmoon. Stranger yet, four twisted brackets were affixed to the sides as if it had once been bolted to something, then pried loose. The numbered lock was currently set to all zeros behind the protective glass, but Ryou couldn't discern any mechanism to adjust the digits.

"How do we change the numbers?"

"No need." Shifting the chest to one hand, Mariku pressed the semicircle and the latch _snicked_ open. Lifting the lid with a squeak, he revealed the bare interior.

"There's nothing inside!" Ryou exclaimed, his face falling.

"Nothing but bad memories," Mariku remarked, snapping the lid shut. "This was Marik's fucking idea! He's just pissed I said he and Bakura have gotten soft over the years."

Ryou eyed him cautiously. "What memories?"

Mariku's brow drew together like it always did before an outburst, but just as Ryou tensed for the defensive outlash, Mariku's expression smoothed.

"That's right, you weren't there."

"Where?"

Mariku gestured around the abandoned pier. "Here. Back in Battle City when Marik-I- _we_ forced Yugi and Joey to duel to the death."

"Oh."

"Oh?" Mariku pressed, brow scrunching.

Ryou shrugged. "Since I was in the hospital at the time, Yugi and the others filled me in."

"And it doesn't bother you?" Mariku challenged.

Ryou smiled and placed his hands over Mariku's still holding the tarnished box.

"I've already forgiven you for your past-so has Marik. Maybe it's time you did the same?"

Mariku frowned at his warped reflection in the dingy brass before handing the vessel to Ryou.

"Here, hold this and hand me your phone."

Turning the camera on, Mariku snapped a selfie of them: Ryou holding their 'prize' and himself flipping the camera off. He sent it to Marik's phone captioned "You're a fucking dick!" before handing the phone back to Ryou.

"Let's get out of here. I didn't want to come on this stupid treasure hunt to begin with." Taking the box back, he tossed it into the harbor. Fingers interlocked, they watched it fade out of sight before turning toward home.


End file.
